Are Comic Book Singles Out-Dated?

Ah, that disenchanted feeling with comics. It's all John Jakala's fault that I'm actually writing about this. You see, John posts a couple of pictures of Pike Place Market's Golden Age Collectables, and actually calls it a "comic shop". Sorry, guy, but that place is a tourist trap. I've only been in there a few times, and the comics side of things was overawed by the general sense of being in a theme shop for science fiction fans. And while that place might depress you, if you go to a real comic book shop, like my own Corner Comics, the pace is slower, the aisles are wider, and the people are generally friendly.

Anyway, as long as I'm on the subject, I guess I should address the rest of the issue. First there's a sense of dissatisfaction with "floppies" or "singles". I've only been collecting comics for a bit over a decade, maybe a dozen years at the most. And while I enjoy getting trades, I still prefer single issues. Why? I have no idea. I do know that I have to budget carefully to be able to buy comics at all, and there are severe limits to what I can get. Maybe that helps, always wanting more? I was going to wait for the trade of 1602, but eventually gave in and bought the singles after all. Why? I don't know. I like the feel of a comic book. I like the ability to sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting, and yet have more story to go. I like being able to pull together a stack of comics and read them one at a time, instead of one book with the whole story. Collections are fine, but I prefer singles.

The other comment is in regards to Previews mag. Ok, I'm totally not with the critics here. I love Previews. Yeah, there's a lot of garbage to wade through, but that makes finding the charming bits all the better. The last three issues of Previews I've done my own little Previews review, and I enjoy it. It takes hours to go through the whole book, but I still like it. You find new books, books you'd like to try out, books you wish you had the money for, and lots of other stuff. I happen to have a spreadsheet that contains my orders, and I keep track of what I order every month along with what I've received. It's picky little bookkeeping, but I enjoy it. I can literally give you every single month's order I've done back to June 1998. Yeah, I keep the records. I find it fun. The fact that I pre-order 99% of what I buy at the comic shop, and pre-pay, makes me different from many folks I'm sure.

Anyway. I guess I just thought I'd post an anti-view to the negative stuff racing around the comics blogosphere. I still like singles, and I don't intend to stop buying them as long as they are still offered. Every time I make a move towards "just getting the collection", I end up recanting and buying the singles. And I like comics. I think the variety and quality is better than ever in the decade or so I've been collecting. When I can pick up four different books like Akiko, Empire, Usagi Yojimbo, and Arrowsmith in a single week, things just aren't that bad.